A blog about Roman Catholic stuff and also politics!!

I might be pretty blunt in this article, and I’m almost going to have to be because the people of the world are so lop-sided in their mentality!! Sin is, more and more, becoming a way of life. Sin is being treated as “good”, while holiness is being treated like “insanity”, when, in fact, it SHOULD BE the other way around!!

I’m going to focus this article on one word—-CHASTITY!! Chastity is a VIRTUE and it comes in three separate ways: chastity in THOUGHT, chastity in WORD, and chastity in DEED (or action)!! Although they are separate, they also go hand-n-hand. You see, if you have unchaste actions, chances are you probably also have unchaste words and/or unchaste thoughts. In fact, it’s very likely that you have unchaste thoughts because actions are based on thoughts. If you’re going to have impure and unchaste thoughts, most likely you will also have impure and unchaste actions!!

Chastity in Thought: The way you think has a lot to do with your surroundings and how you were raised. If you are raised in a family setting where sin and impurity is the #1 way of life, and the kinds of actions you see your family members do, those are the things that will stick with you in your mind. If you do not have a rock solid Christian upbringing, where you love God and hate sin, you will be prone to sin and unchaste thoughts.

If you, or your family members (if you’re still living at home), watch porn—that will infiltrate and damage your mind!! Your mind will be full of impure and unchaste thoughts and, trust me, those thoughts are going to be very, very, and I mean very difficult to resist!! Porn is addictive!!

Here comes the rock-n-roll part, now. Rock music puts in your mind all kinds of wild fantasies!! For some people, it can put actively unchaste fantasies (and I’m wording this in chaste terms) in their mind. It didn’t do such to me. But, it can, and it probably does, to others!! Rock music has A LOT to do with unchaste thoughts, words, and deeds because it is full of MIND CONTROL!!

And, let’s not forget all the EXTREME impure, unchaste actions that we see daily on our television screens—-a FANTASTIC reason to toss that tv right out the window!!

Chastity in Word: We all hear, and many of you say, unchaste, unclean, impure, foul-mouthed words all the time!! It’s becoming common place to hear such . . . unfortunately!! In fact, we all probably hear such words on every single television show aired, except for cartoons—children’s cartoons, that is.

The fact of the matter is, too, that, for a lot of people, foul-mouthed language has become part of regular, everyday, talk among them. It’s become a natural for them—they just speak that way without even thinking about it. It has become habitual.

Children are going to pick up the language of their parents. If they hear the parents using all kinds of impure, unchaste, foul-mouthed language, the children will think that it is normal. It won’t be their fault, at all, for thinking such, either. If the parents let the children watch, and hear, such filth on tv, the same applies.

If the children hang around other friends who use such impure, unchaste, foul-mouthed language, chances are the children are going to do the same thing because they want to feel, and be, accepted among their peers. They will talk the same language as their peers because it’s the “in” thing—it’s the “cool” thing. Not all of the children will be this way, though. Some of them will have enough sense of their own to not do that.

But, parents, this is your responsibility!! If you really, truly cared about your children and are concerned about their spiritual welfare, you will make sure that they are chaste in their words and that they should receive a just punishment if they are not. But, YOU are the role models of your children!!

Chastity in Deed: Well, there’s a lot that can be said about this one. If you do not have chaste thoughts, you are not going to have chaste actions!!

I’m going to bring up rock music, again, here. Rock music can instill in your mind the thoughts—the desires—to make love with someone of the opposite sex (or in some cases, the same sex), and if you are a young man and a young lady and not married—that is definitely pretty bad!! The same-sex stuff is far and beyond really bad!! That is against the laws of nature and the laws of God!!! PERIOD!!

If a young man and a young lady have impure actions against each other and she gets pregnant—what if she doesn’t want the baby? In this day and age, these kinds of mothers most likely do not consider adoption. So, chances are, this kind of young lady is going to have an abortion. And there ya go—-one sin leads to another!! In fact, it’s one bad sin leading to even a more worse sin!! So, the best way to prevent the conception of a child? Don’t have sex!! It is also the safest way to prevent the conception of a child!!

This kind of stuff can, and needs to be, held off until marriage!! This kind of stuff is the main reason why a man and a woman get married—to have children!! In fact, this is the reason why we do have MARRIAGE!! CHASTITY TILL MARRIAGE!!!

So, ladies!! You need to respect yourselves . . . more!! A whole lot more!! You need to dress modestly and you need to act modestly!! And you are not “boy toys” and so do not let yourselves be treated as such!! You need to be proud of your virginity!! I am!!

And, young men!! You need to respect yourselves, too, and the young ladies!! Treat your girl like a queen and not like a “boy toy”—because she isn’t. If you really love your girl, ask her to marry you, and then after you reach the altar and say your “I do’s”, you can do what husbands and wives are allowed, by God’s Divine Grace and Will, to do!!

But, parents, you have a major responsibility here!! It’s your job to teach chastity to your children!! Now, you are not going to be able to control their thoughts because that’s beyond your capability as parents. But, what you can control is what your children see and hear—from both you and their surroundings!! You can guard their eyes and their ears as much as you possibly can. You can prevent them from listening to rock music!! You can prevent them from watching porn. You can prevent them from having friends that might give them a very bad influence!! You have this control—your children may not like it, and probably won’t. But, this is your responsibility, as parents!! Be a good role model to your children because your children are going to say and do what they hear and see you do!!

Parents, if you teach your children chastity in thought, word, and deed, right from day one, they will carry this on with them from the moment they leave your house as adults. They will carry this with them wherever they go and they will teach their children what you have taught them!! They will understand the importance of chastity and they will love chastity!! But, parents, you must be chaste, too!!

Christian modesty of dress begins in the home!! Parents, you need to dress children modestly, right from the get-go!! Children are going to wear what you buy them. If you buy them immodest clothing, parents, then that’s the only thing that your children have to wear and that’s what they’re going to get accustomed to. I write this from my own experience and it’s quite obvious anyway in families.

I used to dress very immodestly myself and especially in my teenage years. Jeans, slacks, shorts (and some of them were quite skimpy looking), and yes, even bathing suits. My mother, God have Mercy upon her soul, was very worldly and she always wanted me to look cutesy-cutesy. I didn’t have so much interest in that. She always wanted me to look pretty with nice make up on and my hair styled really nicely. That used to kinda irritate me because I really didn’t care that much about how I looked.

But, when I was dressed immodestly, I also felt the sense of freedom to act more immodestly. I mean, when wearing jeans and slacks (and some people call them pants), I had the tendency of sitting any ole way I wanted to—in an immodest posture—immodest according to how ladies SHOULD BE sitting.

Back in my high school years, dressing all cutesy-cutesy, in jeans and slacks—well that was just the “cool” thing—it was the “in” thing!! Dressing immodestly gave me the natural freedom to act immodestly. To me, it was normal to dress in jeans/slacks/shorts and, naturally, without even thinking about it, a lot of my normal actions/postures were more immodest.

Looking back at the days where I dressed immodestly, I also did not have as much self-respect. It didn’t bother me at all as to how I appeared to others. Now, at the time, I dated lots of young men and they all respected me. But, they probably would have respected me more if I respected myself more, by dressing modestly.

I dressed mostly in that fashion until September 14, 1991. That was my second time back to the apparition site of Our Lady of the Roses, Mary Help of Mothers (http://www.smwa.org/). It was sometime during that Rosary Vigil when myself, and another lady friend, were off to the side picking up copies of Our Lady’s Messages, Rosaries, etc.

Somehow this friend of mine and I got into a very short discussion about wearing slacks. I remember her saying to me: “Well, you know you’re not suppose to wear them, don’t you?” At that moment, I received an instant cure through the intercession of Our Lady of the Roses (http://www.smwa.org/)!! I never thought of it as a cure until earlier today when I finally realized that it was one—a spiritual cure.

You see, from that very moment I never wore jeans, slacks, shorts, or bathing suits ever again!! And that’s been 20 years now (in fact, 20 years next month)!! I just never had that desire!!

At that time, I was 21 years old and living at home with my dad and my two brothers—my mom was killed in a car accident earlier that year, in January—and may God have Mercy upon her soul. When I came home from that Rosary Vigil, most of my clothes were the jeans, slacks, shorts, etc.—the immodest stuff. I did have a few skirts that came down to either just above my knees or the middle of my knees. But, they didn’t totally cover my knees. (I also had a few dresses, I’m sure, that’s length was the same as the skirts.) But, I wore those skirts anyway because those were the only skirts that I had, at the time and I knew that eventually I was going to get longer skirts. I wasn’t working because I was sick with mono. So, I couldn’t just go out and buy skirts right off the bat!! But, it was definitely a start in the right direction and I am sure that Heaven was pleased with this!!

For the next six months after that Rosary Vigil, my dad—God bless him—would daily get on my case about me not wearing the jeans, slacks, etc. and he would always bring up the fact that my mom bought those for me and that she wore jeans, etc., herself. Well, I just let his “complaints”, if you will, go through one ear and out the other. I had no desire to ever change back to all that immodest dressing. Finally, my dad just quit complaining to me about it, although I know that this bugged him for several years and maybe it still does. But, I don’t care. I don’t care if my modest dressing bothers anyone!! What I do care about is how my modest dressing appears in the Eyes of God.

Ever since that Rosary Vigil, I am very cautious as to how I dress. I love to wear the long skirts—the longer, the better!! And, yes, I wear modest tops, too. If I even fear that something might be the least immodest, I will ask my best friend, whom I trust, if he thinks it is too immodest. I will ask him for his opinion. Or, sometimes I just don’t wear the particular clothing if I just feel that it could be the slightest bit immodest.

When I started dressing in skirts/dresses all the time, way back then, I felt more feminine!! Trust me, ladies—you will feel the same way, too, if you change your dressing habits to long skirts and dresses, and modest tops!! I really did feel more feminine!! I also gained more dignity and self-respect!! As I dressed modestly, I acted modestly as well. As the immodest dressing went out the door, so did the immodest actions and postures. (By-the-way, my immodest actions were not mortal sin actions. They were just actions that were very unbecoming of a young lady.)

So, yes, I was cured of immodest dressing through the intercession of Our Lady of the Roses, Mary Help of Mother (http://www.smwa.org/) during the Rosary Vigil of September 14, 1991.

Ladies, I can tell you that if you will dress very lady-like—wearing modest tops and lengthy skirts—you will feel more feminine!! You will gain more self-respect and you will gain more respect from others!! Modesty and chastity go hand-in-hand!! So, ladies, instead of dressing in jeans, slacks, shorts, etc., wear modest tops, and lengthy skirts!! It’s not difficult, at all, to change your dress code!! I did it and so can you!!!

Here is what Christian modesty of dress consists of:

1. Looking to Mary as our Guide and Model, Her dresses in all approved apparitions fully cover Her from Head to Wrists to Feet. Should we accept any less for ourselves? Ask yourself – have you ever seen the Blessed Mother portrayed in anything less than this? Have you ever seen Her in any of Her approved apparitions with even Her Head uncovered? Could you imagine Her in any of the fashions of today even seemingly simple loose fitting PANTS? We should therefore follow Her Example and not follow any of the worldly fashions.

2. Mary-like dresses have sleeves that extend at least to the elbows, which excludes sleeveless dresses, tops, short sleeves or cap sleeves. (Note: Quarter length sleeves are tolerated, with Ecclesiastical Approval, for the time being until Christian womanhood again turns to Mary as the Model for modesty in dress.)

3. Skirts and dresses, following the direction of Saint (Padre) Pio, should extend at least 8″ (eight inches) below the knee. This would exclude anything shorter than that, such as mini or micro skirts. They are also to be full enough to conceal the figure of the wearer and not reveal. Just because it is a dress, does not mean that it is modest. If the dress is to narrow or has a dropped waist, or is designed in such a way as to emphasize unduly parts of the body, they would be considered immodest and not appropriate for wear. Flesh colored fabrics, giving the example from a distance of ‘flesh’ are improper at all times.

4. Dresses should fuly cover the chest, back, shoulders and the neckline should not exceed two inches below the pit of the throat, nape of the neck or sides. They should not admit as modest transparent fabrics, laces, nets, organdy, nylons, etc unless sufficient backing is added. They may be used as trimmings. This would also eliminate tight sweaters and blouses or other shirts.

5. This list would also exclude pants, slacks, culottes, jeans, shorts and such, as they have been proven to be men’s attire, and harmfull for women and society at large, and against God’s command in Deut. 22:5. Most unbecoming is also sloppy-looking clothing such as jogging pants and oversized t-shirts and such, for both women and men.

6. For Men: Loose fitting and long pants. Long sleeves and pants for Church attire. This excludes all tight clothing, especially immodest swimwear, tight exercise clothing, or topless dressing in public.

SUMMARY: Our children need to be taught from the youngest age the importance of proper attire that is modest, that is becoming and feminine for women. These guidelines are designed to instill a sense of modesty in both boys and girls, and restore a sense of femininity in girls and women. Be sure to always sew or purchase clothing that matches these guidelines and you will not be an occasion of sin or source of embarrassment to yourself or others.